One Little Gesture.

Life is full of little gestures, from a meaningful look where the eyes say, 'I want you', to a finger flipped to another motorist to inform them that you are a perfect driver! We all know and understand these gestures the world over. Some countries have their own particular gestures such as the Maori Haka, where a strange dance coupled with gurning (face pulling) is designed to intimidate. I don't think this is very intimidating by itself but when you have an eighteen-stone rugby player doing it to you, it is quite scary.

Lots of cultures rub noses together as a greeting, while in the Mediterranean countries, a kiss on the cheeks is both a formal and a friendly way of greeting. Here in Britain, a handshake will suffice, thank you very much! I know that on both sides of my family, the Italians and the Irish tend to want to feed you when you enter their house, while here in Britain, you are instantly offered a cup of tea. These are all small gestures, but they add up to one big thing: civilisation! I'm not talking about the so-called civilised world (which is often anything but) I'm talking about people understanding others. To reach out and shake hands, kiss, or rub noses shows we mean no harm. It is better to flip a finger to another motorist than to jump from your car and beat him senseless. These are rules that we have set to show both our pleasure and displeasure with others. But can you do the same thing on a grander scale? Can these rules apply to international politics?

The sight of Obama shaking hands with Castro is one example of how one simple little gesture says a lot. This one act shows that they have their differences, but now its time to talk. But you do have to be careful - remember, salesmen have some of the most impressive handshakes known to man, and some of the most deceitful lovers are the best kissers!

Here in Britain at the moment we are going through a general election, which is where lots of politicians who all look, sound and behave the same, with all the same ideas, spend a few weeks calling other politicians, who look, sound and behave the same as themselves. This is all very tedious. Rather than implementing new bright ideas, they rehash old ones while sneering at the other side for having the same ideas as them. They behave like unfaithful lovers caught for the last time: they promise you the world if you will just take them back one more time, only to renege on their flimsy promises at a later date when you have committed to them. I do believe that grass root politicians, councillors, get into politics for all the right reasons: they care about their community and the people they work for. But the further up the greasy pole you slither, the further you have to fall, so it becomes more about self survival than selfless serving. It would be good to see one politician stand up and say, "You have made mistakes, we have made mistakes, this system is crap, let's change it."

Of course, there have been gestures in the past which have caught world attention. Who can forget the young man in Tienanmen square who stood in front of a tank, refusing to let it past! This one gesture spoke a thousand words, although I wouldn't regard this as a little gesture. I have since met someone who was there on that day, in fact her husband was one of the young men that ran out to pull tank man back into the crowd. They all knew they had to move quickly to get away, but most of them didn't!

One little gesture that really moved me personally was something that I have written about before.

Many years ago my wife, my son and I visited my wife's parents who lived in the city of York. This city is very ancient and attracts millions of tourists from all over the world each year, though I see it as a big theme park. It was near Christmas, so my son and I decided to go into the city centre to buy a few last-minute Christmas presents for my wife. I am, unfortunately, forced to become a social Christian at this time of year as it means a lot to my wife. My son had gone into a shop to buy a present, so I stood outside to watch the world go by. 

The weather was typical for Yorkshire at this time of the year: cold, sleet and wind. People rushed by with their coats wrapped tight against the weather. The floor was wet and cold and I noticed sitting on a wet blanket was a homeless person, shivering against the cold. His head was held low and he had seemed to have given up on life. He wasn't begging, he was just trying to stave off the winter weather. I have to admit to my shame that I did nothing to help this young man who had fallen on hard times through life and probably through the policies of the above mentioned suits. As I watched, another young man with his very young son walked down the street. He held his child proudly on his shoulders and they laughed and giggled all the way down the road, as the father tickled his son who in turn hugged his Dad. 

The two walked past the young man huddled on the floor in a dirty, wet, and no doubt freezing blanket. The man with the child stopped as he passed the man on the floor and looked at the child in his arms who was beaming the biggest most excited smile in the world back at his father. The young man then hugged his child tightly then reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He then walked over to where the homeless young man sat and gave him a twenty pound note saying, “Merry Christmas my friend.” 

Then he walked away, holding on to his precious little bundle of happiness in his arms. The man looked at the money in his hand. First he was stunned to receive anything, then even more stunned to see how much it was. He jumped to his feet and ran after the man who had given him the money, shouting, “Thank you!” at the top of his voice, adding, “Merry Christmas!” This one little gesture, where one person was able to empathise with another, moved me so much. He, on seeing another less fortunate, had realised just how fortunate he was. This may seem like a small gesture, but to the person on the receiving end, I think it was a huge gesture of hope.